hot 97

After the addition of Ness Nitty on the afternoon drive earlier this year, Hot 97 has added another dope chick to the team – Megan Ryte! Megan is a DJ and on-air personality who comes to Hot by way of Houston radio station The Box, and she will be holding down mid-days from 10am to 3pm, Monday through Friday.

Earlier this week, the Tsunami Mob leader Kehlani stopped by Hot 97 to chat with Nessa, and revealed some major news: she has a new mixtape coming at the end of April titled You Should Be Here. (The cover art is above.) The project is the follow-up to 2014’s Cloud 19, which spawned hits like “FWU,” “Get Away,” “First Position” and more.

Shortly after the interview (where she also discussed crazy fan stories from her recent tour, her family life and more,) Kehlani dropped YSBH‘s first release, the Jahaan Sweet-produced “How That Taste.” Get into both the track and the interview below!Continue Reading →

An interview that Iggy Azalea did with GQ last week quoted her as saying she “sparked a change” in hip-hop, naturally prompting some rather hilarious responses from both haters and supporters of the Australian raptress. It was quite a bold statement…as well as one that may not necessarily be accurate…and a ton of reaction memes immediately surfaced afterward.

Hot 97′s Ebro shared one of his own after HipHopWired asked for faces of your reaction to the quote, posting an adorable “FOH” face that his newborn daughter had once made. This set the always-outspoken Iggy off on a little tirade, calling Hot 97 “shady,” amongst other things. In response, Ebro and his morning show co-hosts Peter Rosenberg and Laura Stylez let her know how they really feel. Check out what they said below.

Who do you side with in this one? I’m on the fence. Personally, I feel that Iggy IS attacked WAY more than the average celeb…but I also feel like she needs to quit crying about EVERY situation.Continue Reading →

New Jersey is really on the rise with talent across the board right now, from producers to rappers, singers, writers, DJs…the list goes on. Last night was set to be such a big night for all of the above, as Hot 97‘s monthly ‘Who’s Next Live’ showcase featured an all-Jersey lineup, headlined by “Trap Queen” rapper Fetty Wap, “Back Up On It” rapper Dougie F. and “Yeah, OK” rapper Kazzie.

Unfortunately, though some of the opening acts like Signature, DJ Frosty and Chad B. were able to perform, the venue was shut down after only an hour due to over-capacity issues and trouble at the door. It got so bad at one point, Fetty wasn’t even able to get in!

New Jersey legends Naughty By Nature were in the building to support, and upon the police calling the event off, Treach grabbed the microphone and ended up giving a 30-minute speech about unity, police brutality, Jersey being slighted and more. He kept it quite peaceful, however, and I do commend the venue and the police for allowing him to say what he had to say. It was a pretty powerful moment!Continue Reading →

Congratulations are in order for my girl Ness Nitty! The Girl Code star/radio personality has officially joined the Hot 97 team, leaving behind a 4-year tenure on-air at Bay Area radio station, Wild 94.9.

Nessa comes in the midst of tons of changes at the iconic radio station, with new DJs recently added, a new music director (TT Torrez,) a new program director (following former PD Ebro Darden‘s resignation in 2014 to focus on his morning show duties,) Angie Martinez‘s departure, Mister Cee‘s departure…the list goes on. Nessa will take over Angie‘s former 3-7pm slot, while the show’s host in the interim, Cipha Sounds, will now “transition into other on-air responsibilities,” per the press release.

“Working for Hot 97 is a dream come true!” Nessa said in a statement. “I want to thank Jimmy Steal, Rick Cummings and Deon for this amazing opportunity, as well as my mentor, Cat Collins. New York, let’s go!”Continue Reading →

It’s been so long overdue, but finally all members of the iconic Dip Set crew are on board for a REAL reunion, and an album is on the way. It will be warmed up first with a mixtape though, hosted by LIT Digital DJs‘ Funk Flex, DJ Mustard, Swizz Beatz and DJ Khaled.

Stopping by Flex‘s show on Hot 97 last night, Cam’Ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey dropped off their new song “Have My Money,” while also spitting some bars off J. Cole‘s “Fire Squad” beat (for Lz and Jim) and “The Roc (Just Fire)” beat for Killa – which was a blast from the past, since that’s a Just Blaze beat from Cam‘s 2002 classic album, Come Home With Me.

The 15-city tour dates have not yet been announced, but the guys did reveal it will start with an NYC stop first at the Best Buy Theatre, and that they’ll also be at Flex‘s sneaker expo during All Star Weekend. The latter, however, is just to meet fans and sell Dip Set merch, NOT a performance.

Right now is such a huge time for Jersey. Over the years, we’ve had an artist blow up here and there, but our state is finally buzzing with SO many talented individuals getting recognition on a large scale at the same time. We’ve got Fetty Wap blowing up with “Trap Queen,” Karen Civilbuilding a freakin’ empire, Mike Zombie signed to OVO and producing for some of the biggest names in the game (plus rapping crazy too,) Drewski, DJ Naim and DJ Wallah spinning on Hot 97, myself doing what I do (ya diiig,) Joe Budden still being relevant to hip-hop and pop culture, and now Dougie F. blowing up as well with his DJ Fire-produced single, “Back Up On It (Jasmine.)”

Dougie‘s track garnered the attention of Diplo earlier this year, who signed the Orange, New Jersey native to his Mad Decent imprint, and has since brought him on tour to stadiums around the country. As his name grows, Dougie stopped by Hot 97‘s Ebro In The Morning last week to discuss his rise to fame, as well as New Jersey‘s movement, his strong white girl game (LOL!) and more. Check out the interview below, plus the video to “Back Up On It.”Continue Reading →